


Stalking Shadows - Helsaween 2020

by Helsanon



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Disney, Disney Movies, F/M, Fear, Full Moon, Halloween, Helsaween, Helsaween 2020, Horror, Kingdom of Arendelle (Disney), Monsters, Movie: Frozen (2013), Post-Frozen (2013), Second Chances, Suspense, Terror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26811571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helsanon/pseuds/Helsanon
Summary: Something was wrong with Queen Elsa: each full moon, she would undergo a change - becoming introspective and terrified. The reason for that will finally show itself on the 13th full moon of the year.Written for the Helsaween 2020 event.[Elsa, Hans] [Anna, Kristoff] - Helsa; Iceburns; Kristanna.
Relationships: Anna & Kristoff (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Hans (Disney), Elsa/Hans (Disney)
Kudos: 10
Collections: ❄❄❄





	Stalking Shadows - Helsaween 2020

Helsaween Week 1 – **Stalking Shadows**

\- The events of this story happen after Frozen Fever -

Things were going well in Arendelle. Elsa ended the out-of-season winter she created, Hans was shipped away, her relationship with her sister was closer than ever, Olaf became the city’s mascot and Kristoff was a good prospect for Anna. The queenie activities were pretty demanding on Elsa, though; while she delegated some to Anna and even one or two things to Olaf, the meaty work was still under her purview. The ministers helped with what they could… but the recent death of her parents was still a problem for the kingdom.

It was almost a year and a half since the dramatic events of the coronation and the kingdom was getting ready for the New Year’s Eve festivities. Nevertheless, Elsa cruised on and managed to deal with the most pressing matters in due time. However, the last full moon week of the year – and the year’s 13th – was also approaching.

Anytime a full moon occurred, Elsa would drop hard on her productivity. It was like a negative spirit took hold of her – and she would like to stay hidden in her bedroom during that stage. Anna acted as a figurehead during those troubling times; despite that, it was clear to all the younger sister still had a lot to learn to step on Elsa’s toes.

Every four weeks, when the Moon was showing its full glory in the sky, the same chill went down Elsa’s spine. She would shiver when it was hot; shudder when there was silence and waver when she was alone. Those weeks were the most troubling to her mind, because she had a feeling.

The feeling something out there was… _hungry_.

It wasn’t like that from the beginning, though. It only started after it was brought to her attention that Hans escaped his confinement for his crimes. The simple thought of him returning to Arendelle and causing harm to anyone was daunting to her. Anna, Olaf, and others tried to alleviate her concerns, but during the full moon, it was for naught. All the castle staff could do was to wait for the third quarter phase to come and make Elsa leave her chambers. She then acted as if everything was normal and nothing was out of the ordinary. It baffled the court, but with time they’ve learned to live with that.

_December 28th_

Elsa raised her eyes from her paperwork and gazed at the moon. The dreaded week finally arrived and she started to feel uncomfortable. Her hands shook, her forehead was sweaty and her pupils enlarged in size. Suddenly, a knock was heard and she was startled by it.

“Elsa, can I come in?”

Elsa stood up from her chair and moved to the door, opening it. It was Anna, with a smile on her face and a box of chocolates in her hands. The queen looked at the box and produced a smile.

“Of course, Anna.”

“So, I was talking with Gerda about the new flower stand in the plaza-“

Anna’s speech was cut short when she noticed her sister frozen in place, with her eyes distant.

“Elsa, is everything ok? Look at me.”

There was no response. Anna tried to shake her sister back to reality, offering her chocolate; nothing worked. “I’ll be back, sis!” Troubled, she stormed off the room, looking for Kristoff or Kai to help her.

Elsa finally recomposed herself some minutes later and again looked at the moon. The big white ball filled her mind with anxiety; she had to protect herself from whatever was out there. She quickly closed the door and barred it with a chair, as also closing the windows, curtains, and the blinds.

‘ _Now, it cannot get to me._ ’

The flames of the candles flickered a bit as if a breeze had touched them. She laid back at one of the walls, terrified at that seemingly impossible event. She checked under her bed – nothing was there. Inside her wardrobes – also, nothing.

‘ _This must be my mind playing tricks with me._ ’

Trying to relax a bit, she drank more of the hot tea Gerda brought to her earlier. While pleasing, it wasn’t enough… especially because one of the windows made a noise.

Alarmed by it, she gasped and let the teacup fall on the floor, breaking it in many pieces and spilling the rest of the tea. She turned to the window and prepared to release a spell on whoever – or _whatever_ – was there. The window creaked again and it was clear someone was trying to get inside. Elsa’s face became a mix of terror and anger, already praying for the would-be-burglar to go away. After a third attempt, the windows finally went silent and Elsa dropped her arms, breathing in relief.

The doorknob winced and Elsa returned to her distressed state, shouting the interloper to leave her.

“Elsa, it’s me! Please, let me in! I have the royal doctor with me.”

Anna’s voice was soothing and the queen finally receded to a more neutral stance. She removed the chair, opened the door, and embraced her sister.

“Oh, Anna! Someone tried to barge into my bedroom.”

“Oh no! Are you ok?”

“For now, yes. But we’ll need to post guards outside my windows for the coming nights.”

“Your Majesty, please sit. I’d like to examine you.” Said the royal doctor. The platinum blonde acquiesced to his suggestion and went under some tests.

_December 29th_

As usual with full moon weeks, Elsa transferred most of her work to Anna and the ministers, while retreating to her room. The royal doctor would take some days before concluding the tests and the queen couldn’t do much to improve the situation. The sight of the guards outside her windows was reassuring… Still, the fear returned when the full moon was up in the sky. _It_ would come back, no doubt. There were rumors the queen was seeing things where they weren’t; to quell those, she invited Olaf to stay with her that night. He was entertaining and talkative, even making her laugh at some jokes or too innocent questions.

Near midnight, Elsa was preparing to sleep. She closed her windows, dressed in her nightgown, and went to bed. All she could see outside was the contour of her guards and the landscape outside the castle. Olaf was sleeping on the chair he sat on minutes ago, snoring.

The moment Elsa turned her head to sleep, she noticed a new shadow outside her windows. Abruptly, one of the guards’ contour vanished from view, with the other guard becoming alert and asking for his companion. Seconds later, that guard also vanished. She heard no sound and was terrified by what was going on. The queen rushed to her windows and closed the blinds of the first and then the second window. When she got to the third one, a new silhouette was there.

It was something she never saw before in her life.

Olaf woke up with the terrified scream of her mother; Elsa was near a window and looking outside, shrieking in horror. He rushed to her side and, also noticing the form out there, joined her in the screaming.

The figure was a hulking beast, with thick fur. Its head moved to Elsa and then to Olaf as if it was trying to decipher what they were. After some seconds of that loud noise, the form was gone.

Anan rushed to her sister’s bedroom, looking concerned; the two inside the room looked back and stopped shouting. Elsa dropped to her knees and started crying, while Olaf told Anna what happened.

_December 30th_

The guards were found on the roof of the castle, unconscious but not harmed. They couldn’t recall anything strange happening on the previous night; they were replaced by more guards, which were also more experienced. Elsa was told to move to some windowless bedroom of a servant. She grudgingly accepted, resorting to less comfort of the body to have some of the mind. Olaf was already back to his normal self and armed himself with a wooden sword, vowing to protect Elsa from the ‘monster’.

Elsa’s sighting was the talk of the day in the city – most people were worried about their ruler’s health, while others laughed it off as some delusion by her part. A bunch of guys even wanted to join the royal guard to protect her, but they were sorely needed in their crafts for the festivities and their selections were postponed.

Kristoff finally returned from his ice-gathering trip and was updated with the last news. He was gravely troubled by that and also wanted Anna to remain in a windowless bedroom – however, it was pointed out that only Elsa was the target of the creature. Anna dismissed her boyfriend’s worries with her and asked him if he could scour the city to search for clues. He accepted the mission and went out. The girls lit a fireplace and remained embraced for hours, with a blanket around them. Olaf posted himself at the door, but inside the room; the four best soldiers in Arendelle were posted outside.

Kristoff’s undertaking didn’t produce anything of note – no footprints, tracks, or any other trace was left. When the night came, Elsa started her uneasiness and not even Anna could help her with that.

“Anna, you should go to your room. I feel tonight will be a very problematic one for those here.”

“I’ll never abandon you, Elsa! Even more in such a situation. Now shush and let me handle it.”

To the surprise of her sister, Anna stood up and produced a sword and a shield.

“I dare the monster to come here and even try to look at you!” She did some moves that impressed both Elsa and Olaf.

Coincidently, a commotion started to happen outside the room. They could hear muffled voices talking, them shouting, some thuds, and then silence.

“It’s here. Oh, no!” Exclaimed Elsa.

The doorknob moved, but the door didn’t give in. There were some forced entry attempts by whoever wanted to enter: one, two, and three.

“Go away! Stop pestering my sister!” Anna shouted.

“Yeah! Shoo!” Olaf added.

They could hear nothing until half an hour passed. There was an urgent knock on the door.

“Hey, are you girls alright?” It was Kristoff.

Anna dropped her weapons, rushing to the door and hugging the gruff blond.

“Oh, Kristoff! The monster came here! He tried to enter, but the door held. What happened to our soldiers?” She was dismayed at the sight: the men were blacked out, but she could see they were breathing.

“They were knocked out by the creature. It seems it wants Elsa, but goes in great lengths to not hurt anyone else.” Kristoff said.

“What can we do? If not even our best soldiers can deal with it?” Olaf was perplexed by the conundrum.

“Perhaps… I have to confront it.” Elsa stood up and looked at her family as if she was taking a most fateful decision.

“No, Elsa! It’s too dangerous!”

“Anna, _I_ _am_ dangerous. It’ll return tomorrow and we can’t do anything to stop it. Might as well let it say its peace.”

_December 31st_

The queen was adamant about her plan and no begging from the court could change her mind. She would act as bait, trying to argue with the monster while the guard would be at the ready, hidden from view. Anna was kept safe – for she was the future of Arendelle’s royal family. Olaf and Kristoff chose to remain with Anna to protect her. The redhead didn’t like the plan one bit, but she came to trust her sister on her decisions not only as a queen but also as a person.

They embraced firmly as if it was their last one. With tears trickling on her cheeks, Anna and Elsa left each other.

The trap was set in her normal bedroom. Elsa pretended to do her night chores while the guards were hidden in many places, all armed and armored; only those outside the windows could be seen by anyone coming from there.

It didn’t take too much time for the creature to make itself shown. It came down hard on the leftmost guard, while jumping at the second and used him like a hammer at the third; everything happened so fast that the fourth one couldn’t raise the alarm fast enough. All Elsa saw was the shadows outside ‘dancing’ while everything happened. Filled with terror, she back walked towards the door. The guards noticed her change of stance and prepared themselves.

With the fight ended, the monster looked straight at Elsa through the middle window… and gently opened it. She was taken aback by what it was: a close reminder from the werewolf stories told by her parents – half-man, half-wolf creatures that stalked the moonlit nights for prey. She couldn’t believe it, but one of them was there. And it wanted _her_.

Something was wrong, however. The bipedal, reddish-fur monster wasn’t _aggressive_. It filled her line of sight, but it was breathing calmly. Its eyes met Elsa’s and she noticed a familiar bright on them. They were emerald green and looked at her with an expression she had seen before. The creature spoke in a guttural voice, but it had a human tone under it.

“Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I came here looking for-“

“GUARDS! NOW!” The leader of the guard, Mattias, gave the signal. In seconds, the veterans of the guard encircled the two figures and pointed pikes and crossbows at the werewolf. It snarled, looking at each soldier and posing its arms in a belligerent motion. Its claws were enormous and could easily rip a man apart.

“STOP!” The queen ordered her soldiers. “It can speak, so let’s hear it.” She had to summon all her strength to say that – while her innermost feelings were to slay the beast at the spot. Living with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and others taught her a different way to look at things.

“Speak your mind, werewolf.”

“I was cursed with this… _form_. You’re the only other magical being I know, so I came here for help.”

Everyone was surprised by the creature’s reasoning. It dropped its guard and stared at Elsa with a sad look.

“Who… who did this to you?” Asked the queen, puzzled by the entire situation.

“A witch. I met her after my esca…” The creature quickly zipped its mouth.

“Escape? From where?” Mattias demanded to know. The werewolf knew it was a point of no return, but it was desperate.

“From the Southern Isles.”

The gasps were audible. Even Elsa was staggered by that – as the only person she could think was…

“…Hans?”

The werewolf lowered its ears and evaded Elsa’s eyes. “Yes.”

The royal guard renewed their hostility and started to poke Hans with their pikes. “You were told to stay away!” Hans grabbed two of the pikes and broke them in half, letting their half-shafts fall on the floor. “Don’t do that again.” He growled while looking threateningly to Mattias. The men and the monster felt the temperature quickly dropping – they all looked at Elsa, who was casting a spell.

“P-please, chill. How can I help you, Hans?”

“I don’t know. I’ve tried other places of knowledge but they either kicked me out or had not the answer I seek.”

“What happened to the witch?”

“I killed her. She _gave_ me this for us to work together and amass power and riches… but she went overboard and tried to kill kids who witnessed our latest heist. I couldn’t let her do it and…” Hans fell silent. He reached his satchel and produced a book, which he gave to Elsa.

“This is her book of spells and incantations. No one else could decipher it.”

Elsa fearfully grabbed the book and put it on her desk.

“You know we cannot believe in whatever you say, Hans. What if you were always like that?”

“Then Arendelle’s history would’ve been very different.” He paused, letting his words sink on the others. “But this is really bad. Some nights, I cannot control what I do. I feel my mind losing it to the… to the Beast. I don’t want this anymore – it gave me nothing but my own private nightmare.”

Elsa felt those words. She also had her terrible power for years – something she couldn’t take hold of. In a way, Hans finally came to understand what Elsa suffered all those years before. She asked her guards to stand by and approached the hulking monster.

“I guess we can come to an understanding, Hans. I might help you. But you realize we cannot have you at large.”

“I know. A cage is a cage, but at least here I have _hope_.”

“A cage? No. You’ll have a room and my bravest servants. But you won’t leave your quarters – and my soldiers have permission to deal with you _permanently_ if you lose control.”

“Acceptable terms.”


End file.
